About me
Let me tell you a bit more about my background and the focus of my work!
Background
Studies
In addition to my bachelor studies in physics (Universität Göttingen and Uppsala Universitet) as well as my completed master studies in sustainability science (Leuphana Universität Lüneburg) I have been working as a web developer and graphic designer in the past years.
Work experience
Through various public relations and graphic design jobs at Universität Göttingen and Universität Hamburg, I not only acquired expertise regarding the relevant graphics software and various content management systems. Simultaneously, I also developed a high level of quality awareness and sensitivity towards numerous aspects of design work through collaboration with various editors and graphic designers. In my professional positions, my own projects and my work for student initiatives, I have produced large and small publications from conception to print production and implementation.
Currently I am working as a graphic designer in the Department Communication and Marketing at Universität Hamburg with a focus on accessible, user-centered design.
Certificates
I have acquired much of my knowledge over the years through self-study and work experience. To further enhance my graphic design skills, I also started a certificate degree in graphic design at the OfG School for Graphic Design, which I completed in 2020. I also completed a certificate course in web accessibility through a W3C education program.
My focus
Graphic design
My focus in graphic design is the layout and design of reports and brochures, flyers and business stationery. Depending on the requirements, I optimize the products for print and/ or digital publication. I also implement digital publications in the form of interactive, accessible PDF or ePub files. In addition, I create website designs that can be viewed as clickable prototypes.
For design work I use differentn software, depending on the project requirements. Most often I use software from the Affinity suite (Designer, Publisher, Photo), the Adobe suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop) or the web design software Sketch.
Web development
Another focus of my work is the creation of websites as well as the development of customized web applications. Web applications are web pages or parts of web pages with special requirements that cannot be easily implemented through an ordinary content management system. Web applications are needed when a very specific design and programming logic is required. An example of such a web application is an interactive map that visualizes specially entered spatial data.
For common websites I often use the content management system WordPress. For the creation of scaleable, robust web applications I use the web development framework Laravel, the CSS framework Tailwind and if necessary additional components such as the JavaScript libraries Alpine, Vue, Leaflet or D3..
Digital accessibility
Digital content has the potential to reach all people — regardless of their own language, location, and possible physical and cognitive impairments. However, this potential can only unfold if digital documents such as websites or e-books are designed in a way that their structure and content is also accessible to assistive technologies.
An important guide for the creation of digital accessible documents is provided by the WCAG of the W3C consortium as well as the PDF/UA document standard. Accessible contents are not only beneficial for people with disabilities. They are also recognized more easily and ranked higher by search engines and provide a better usability for everyone.
Accessibility is essential for some, and useful for everyone!